Here's some news that will delight Cannes Film Festival chief
Terry Fremaux, who must have been freaking out since Tuesday's totally
head-scratching announcement that Icon Entertainment were attempting to sneak the big 2011 showpiece,
Terrence Malick's drama
The Tree of Life into U.K. theatres on May 4th, a week before the festivities kick off in the South of France. Jeff Wells at
Hollywood Elsewhere has just posted snippets from a statement he has received from Summit Entertainment's Senior VP of International Marketing & Publicity,
Jill Jones, who denies the story;
"The information regarding the May 4th UK release is incorrect. Icon Film Distribution Ltd. does not have the right to distribute The Tree of Life in the UK, as it is in default of its agreement. The matter is pending before an arbitration tribunal in Los Angeles."
So once again The Tree of Life is to unspool for the first time on the Croisette, a venue befitting of such an ambitious, artistic endeavour about life, the universe and dinosaurs. As I said
on Tuesday the possibility that Tree of Life could open in the U.K. before Cannes was "baffling, unexpected and unjustifiable" and thankfully this has been avoided. I know top OWF reviewers Mike Edwards and Shaun Munro will be pissed and the rest of the U.K. will have to find something else to do on May 4th, but hey, if they were being honest with themselves they will know deep down in their heart of hearts that The Tree of Life is a movie that should be put up to that kind of spotlight and scrutiny that a festival like Cannes can only bring. If you want to know the whole story of the U.K. and U.S. war over Tree of Life's debut, then you should read
The Playlist who had a terrifically informative write-up about the messy situation. A resolution and end to the story seems to have come... Tree of Life will debut in Cannes, before hitting the U.S. screens on May 31st, and we presume U.K. screens around the same time.